Target: Destiny
Chapter Seven
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A/N: Judging by one of the reviews I received, there seems to be some confusion on one thing. I addressed this issue in Target: You, but I realize some of you may not have read that story. Yuugi is not little Yuugi; he is Yami Yuugi. The reason he is not called Yami is because that is not his name. He is not called Atemu because I think that would only be fitting if this were an Egyptian fic. He is not called Yami Yuugi because there are no 'dark' and 'light' Yuugi(s); he is the only one in the story. (Think about it: would little Yuugi go around cussing and trying to beat Bakura to a pulp? XD)
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Anzu squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to block out the images; but, she couldn't block them out, and she couldn't wake up. Sweat dripped from her nose to smack her harshly on the cheek. She clenched her one blanket tightly in her hand.
"Yes, of course, I will!" Careen cried happily. She shook her head as if to slow her thoughts which were racing a hundred miles an hour. "But we'll have to wait the appropriate amount of time for Anzu to be gone."
"Yes, we don't want to create a scandal," Bakura agreed. He smashed his lips down onto his lover's, his lust once again coming to the surface. They had only to wait six months, and then it would be acceptable for him to re-marry, as long as Anzu didn't come back, of course.
"Create a scandal over what?" Malik asked suspiciously as he entered Bakura's office. His eyes widened slightly at seeing his cousin possessively holding Careen's hands.
"We're getting married!" Careen exclaimed.
"W-What?" Malik stuttered in disbelief, staring at his former mistress.
Anzu's heart went out to him. He looked hurt beyond anything she had ever seen. The blond turned his back on the pair, stiffening his back visibly.
"Anzu would be ashamed," he said simply before leaving the room. Damn right! Anzu would hug Malik if she could find her voice and move her legs. Why couldn't she run over to the group and slap some sense into her wayward husband and that little hussie?
"What's his problem?" Careen wondered quietly. Anzu gritted her teeth and clenched the blanket tighter.
"You stupid slut!" Anzu screamed though no sound came out. She stamped her foot irritably.
She paused in her temper tantrum when her children ran into the room. Ryoko looked distraught.
"Mommy's coming back!" she shrieked, tears streaming down her cheeks. Obviously, she had spoken with her Uncle Malik. Yes, I'm coming back! Anzu thought desperately.
"Sweetie, mommy is gone, but I'll be your new mommy," Careen soothed, bending down to the eight-year-old's height. Ryoko pushed away from her with a snarl and pulled her little brother closer to her. "Get away from us!" She glared up at Bakura. "I hate you, daddy! I hate you!" With that, she stormed from the room with Baku in tow.
Anzu began to cry herself when she couldn't move to go to her daughter and son. Damnit! She screamed in frustration, but once again, her wails were heard by no one.
As soon as Ryoko and Baku were out of the room, yet another person entered. Anzu watched in despair as Yuugi made his way across the room to stand in front of Bakura and Careen. After a moment of silence, he extended his wrist.
"Best of luck then," he offered as Bakura gripped his wrist. What! Anzu thought incredulously. There was no way in hell this was happening!
Finally, an angel of mercy heard Anzu's desperation as she was tapped awake by a none-too-gentle finger on her shoulderblade. Her eyes shot open, and she looked around furiously. She nearly cried again upon realizing it had all been a horrible nightmare. She couldn't begin to imagine why she kept having these crazy dreams about Bakura and Careen, however.
After her eyes focused in the darkness, her gaze directed itself to the man who had awakened her. She realized that it was the very man who had kidnapped her.
"You!" she hollered. "How dare you?" She pushed herself up in the bed and clambered out of it. She threw out a fist, but her weight made her off-balance, and she missed making contact with his cheek.
The man tsked. "You should not treat your future husband with such disrespect."
Anzu's eyes bulged. "That's nuts! I won't marry you!" She realized how ridiculous she looked saying she wouldn't marry someone when she was wearing a wedding gown.
The man slowly sauntered up to her. She stood rooted to the spot, unsure of what to expect. He gently placed a hand on her swolen abdomen. "You will marry me soon," he began threateningly, "or I won't be so kind." She gasped in horror and stepped away from him, shielding her baby protectively.
"If I wasn't so fat, I swear I'd kill you!" she spat frustratedly. He merely lifted a perfectly sculpted brow.
"Kill me? That's not very nice."
"And nothing says 'I'm Mr. Nice Guy' like kidnapping a random woman and forcing her to marry you," she said stubbornly.
"Ah, my dear, it was not random at all," he informed her, circling her like a vulture with a predatory smirk plastered across his face. Anzu shuddered.
"Why me?" she asked curiously.
"I guess I just like you," he replied lightly. He regarded her coolly. "I heard you mumbling in your sleep. You know, some say dreams are actually an insight into reality."
Anzu's heart pounded in her chest. She shook her head. "Bakura would never do that to me."
Her captor shrugged carelessly. "Okay, sure. From the way you were babbling, it seemed like no one cared you were gone."
Insulted, she swung around, this time making contact with his nose. He fell back a few feet and touched a finger tenderly to his nose.
His eyes narrowed and he stalked over to her. Before Anzu knew what was happening, he had yanked a collar out of his robe pocket and slapped it around her neck. She immediately went slack in his arms.
"What did you do to me?" she demanded, alarmed. He smiled maliciously down at her.
"I just made you a little more tolerable."
She tried with all her might to fight against him, but just like in her dream, she couldn't move an inch. Suddenly, her dream replayed in her mind.
As soon as Ryoko and Baku were out of the room, yet another person entered. Anzu watched in despair as Yuugi made his way across the room to stand in front of Bakura and Careen. After a moment of silence, he extended his wrist.
"Best of luck then," he offered as Bakura gripped his wrist. What! Anzu thought incredulously. There was no way in hell this was happening!
Anzu looked up at her captor. While she was thinking, he had sufficiently bound her hands and tied her to a chain hanging from the ceiling. She did not think about this too much though. She stared intently at her kidnapper.
"You've been giving me those nightmares, haven't you?" she accused. She struggled to move her hands, but could not. Her body was completely immobile except for her head; everything below the collar was rendered useless.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he replied with raised brows.
Anzu smiled triumphantly. "You characterized everyone well, but you screwed up on one thing. My husband and Yuugi hate each other."
Her kidnapper's eyes widened, and she knew her suspicions had been correct. She did not know how, but he had been instigating her dreams, trying to screw up her line of thinking in regards to Bakura. Her captor had probably never seen Bakura and Yuugi together except one time when they were in the same room. He must have assumed they were friends!
Anzu's happiness was overwhelming. There was no way her nightmares could be true! They were made up by her kidnapper! Without another word, the man stiffly exited the room, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it.
"Damnit," she muttered, tilting her head up to eye the chain distastefully. "Now I'm stuck like this."
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Bakura's half-lidded gaze barely registered Yuugi's figure before the prince had hauled him up into a sitting position. Bakura's head drooped exhaustedly while Yuugi shook him roughly.
"Bakura, you slimeball! Tell them the truth! Tell them I didn't kidnap Anzu!" Yuugi demanded.
"Yuugi didn't kidnap Anzu," Bakura mumbled obediently. Yuugi released his adversary in surprise. Unable to hold himself up, the king fell back into the bed, knocking his skull on the headboard. He groaned painfully.
"That was really easy," Yuugi marveled, glancing at Bakura uneasily. Malik stepped up behind Yuugi.
"What the hell, Bakura! You said he did!"
Bakura scooted his way up to a sitting position against the headboard, rubbing the back of his throbbing head. With blurry vision, his eyes scanned the room. His children were sitting with Careen and Lady Mai at his side. His cousin was standing next to Yuugi and Jounouchi on the opposite side. He was disheartened to find Anzu missing.
"What I said was 'I can't believe Yuugi didn't do it,'" Bakura replied staunchly. The room was silent for a moment as everyone took in the news. Malik's eyes narrowed.
"Get out of the way, Yuugi, so I can kill him," he growled as he pushed the Earthling prince aside and gripped Bakura by the shirt collar.
"You jerk! You did not include 'didn't do it' in your little speal! At least not that anyone could hear!" Bakura's head bobbled back and forth as Malik shook him with every word. Yuugi yanked Malik's arms away from Bakura.
"If anyone has the right to kill him, it's me! Move aside!" the prince ranted.
"All right, hold on, you two," Careen said, stepping into the fray. "It was just an honest misunderstanding!" At the two men's furious gazes, she shrank back.
"Bakura!" Yuugi continued heatedly, "Your stupid cousin was going to blow up my planet!"
"Not the whole planet!" Malik defended. "Just one measley city!"
Bakura groaned and threw his pillow over his face, willing himself to fall back into unconsciousness. The pillow was yanked off of him, and two angry faces loomed over him.
"Well?" Yuugi demanded.
Bakura looked at all the occupants of the room and sighed. "Lady Mai, get me some painkiller. Jounouchi, get me a tele-comm. Ryoko and Baku, come here. Careen, don't let them kill each other if I black out again. Malik, don't blow up anything. Yuugi... just go away."
Everyone seemed half-way satisfied. Bakura was thankful. His kids climbed up onto the bed with him, and Jounouchi and Mai left the room to do as requested.
Yuugi turned to Malik. "You owe me a huge apology."
"Just because you're owed one doesn't mean you're getting one," Malik replied stubbornly.
"What!" Yuugi bellowed.
Bakura cleared his throat before the pair could get going again. "Malik, shouldn't you tell them not to blow up the city?"
Malik's face paled considerably. "Oh, shit." With that, he dashed out of the room. Yuugi stared after him, alarmed.
Jounouchi and Mai re-entered the room with medicine and a tele-comm. "Why was he in such a rush?" Mai wondered aloud.
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Malik ran through the corridors at break-neck speed, pushing past aristocrats and servants alike. The nukejets were due to arrive on Earth and carry out their mission at any minute now. Only himself and Bakura had the information necessary to stop them.
Bakurian nukejet pilots were some of the most top-trained military officers the army had. While Bakura did not contain very many aircrafts for the military, the few the planet did have were deadly. After a mission had been assigned and the pilots had left, one could not simply call them and tell them to stop.
After all, anybody could imitate Malik or Bakura, or even the pilot's own child, and tell them to stop the attack. The pilots were highly trained to ignore any calling off except a very specific computerized code. If Malik did not get to the main military base in time to enter the code, there would be a missing city on Earth. He cursed under his breath.
Malik's lungs were screaming for air when he reached the base, but he did not pause. He entered the base, running directly to the communications ward. "Get out of the way!" he yelled. Soldiers leapt aside as their general rushed past them and up to the communications console. The men at the console fell out of their chairs in their haste to get out of Malik's way.
Malik's fingers flew across the keypad, entering digits and letters which he thankfully knew from memory. He did not know if he was too late, but he waited with panicked silence after the code was transmitted.
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On Earth, a little boy and girl stared up at the sky as five enormous birds flew lower and lower over their city.
"Wow, Bobby! Look at those big birds!" the girl exclaimed in awe.
"Those aren't birds; they're geese!" the boy corrected.
"Same thing," the girl responded with a sniff.
A teenaged boy stepped up next to his siblings. "Actually, they're jets. I wonder where from though?"
The five nukejets flew down to a nervously low hover over the city before zooming back skyward, taking a quarter-turn, and zipping back the way they had come. The children screamed their excitement and waved to the disappearing jets.
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Malik fell back into a chair with relief. Just before the bombs had been dropped, the pilots had received the code which called off their attacks. They were on their way back to Bakura with no damage reported.
Thank goodness, he sighed inwardly. He opened his eyes to see several soldiers standing over him with confused and worried expressions on their faces. He waved them off. "Back to work!"
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W00t! Fast update! Next chapter we find out who the kidnapped is. Heehee... the tension mounts. XD